Secretary Clinton at the Luncheon in Honor of UK Prime Minister David Cameron

Remarks at the Luncheon in Honor of UK Prime Minister David Cameron

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Benjamin Franklin Room

Washington, DC

March 14, 2012

---

Thank you all very much. Please be seated. Welcome to the State Department. We are thrilled and so pleased to host this luncheon for our very special guests, Prime Minister and Mrs. Cameron. It is wonderful to see all of you celebrating spring with us and knowing that our relationship, it’s always spring. It’s always being renewed, it is always durable, it is a cornerstone of both of our nations’ foreign policies, and it has such a great resonance between our two peoples. Now I want to recognize our chef today. A native of Birmingham, England – not Alabama – (laughter) – who made herself a home in New York City as the executive chef of a couple of very hip restaurants. One, The Spotted Pig, the other The Breslin. So it’s really a delight to have April Bloomfield with us. She was just talking with the Prime Minister – (applause) – it was a very timely introduction because when the Prime Minister and President Obama exchanged gifts, President Obama gave the Prime Minister a barbeque. I mean a real, down-home American barbeque with a smoking compartment and everything else. So April stands ready to help, Prime Minister.
We joke about the special relationship, but that’s because we’re so comfortable with it. It means such a great deal to us. It is not just because of a wide range of shared interests, but our deeply rooted history and the unbreakable friendship between our countries. Now, of course the President did remind the Prime Minister at the White House ceremony this morning that we are at the 200^th anniversary of the War of 1812. (Laughter.)
And I was pleased to tell my counterpart and friend, the Foreign Secretary, and also the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that it was my predecessor in one of my other lives, Dolly Madison, who actually saved the extraordinary portraits of George and Martha Washington. Having received word from her husband, who was truly been a commander-in-chief in the field, that unfortunately the British truly were coming. And – (laughter) – so she rushed from the White House, taking some treasures with her, leaving behind the meal that she had prepared for her husband and his officers. And the British officers ate the meal before they burned the White House. So – (laughter) – we are looking forward, but nevertheless, there are certain memories that are also of significance.
And how wonderful it is, here we are today and working together in so many important parts of the world: helping to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan; helping to promote successful transitions and democratic reforms in the Arab world. We worked alongside each other to end a dictator’s rule in Libya. We are now focused on helping the people of Syria realize a better future for themselves. We are grateful for the leadership that the Prime Minister and his government have shown on so many issues – just recently, I was in London for a conference on Somalia that they sponsored. No matter what the issue, we are standing together.
So I know, Prime Minister and Samantha, that this is just a small measure of hospitality to try to demonstrate our commitment and appreciation for this relationship. We were so well treated when the President and I and our teams were on a state visit last year sponsored by the government, of course, her Majesty’s Government. So, we did the best we could with the weather. We think we pulled that off quite well. But it is now my great pleasure to welcome a dear friend, a great American, and a superb vice president, Joe Biden. (Applause.)

Slideshow: Hillary Clinton in London

I cannot imagine how tired our Secretary of State must be, but she was wide awake and very effective in London today while looking lovely, as always. We see her at 10 Downing Street with David Cameron, William Hague, and U.S. Ambassador to Britain Louis Susman. We also see her at the conference itself as well as at the press briefing that followed. Remarks (video and text) from the conference and the briefing were posted here earlier and can be found by clicking on the title of the previous post just left of the title.

Hillary Clinton à Paris : Chapitre Deux

CNN's John King dubbed her the "Acting President" yesterday, and no less a former adversary than MSNBC's Chris Matthews called her the Commander-in-Chief, saying she was presidential and strong. Roger L. Simon at Pajamasmedia treated us to this header: Jets over Libya as H. Clinton Assumes Presidency.

The amazing Hillary Rodham Clinton departed Paris on Tuesday on a mission to convince the White House that participating in a No-Fly Zone was the right thing to do to protect the brave Libyan freedom fighters who have risen up against 42 years of dictatorship under the tyrant Mouammar Gadhafi. In her meetings on Monday and Tuesday, she reportedly responded to repeated requests for U.S. cooperation from various world leaders with the mantra, "There are difficulties."

But HRC knew exactly what kind of an NFZ she wanted in order for the U.S. not to look like the cliched "world's policeman." She knew exactly how the coalition should be formed and how her country should fit in. So when she returned to D.C. early Friday morning, she did so with a mission. In a Situation Room meeting that morning, she finally scored her victory winning President Obama's agreement to participate in the coalition.

Fewer than 24 hours after she landed home at Andrews AFB, she was once again wheels up for a Paris Summit hastily arranged by French President Nicholas Sarkozy upon the news that the U.S. was on board for a NFZ. We see her below being greeted by Sarkozy, the UK's David Cameron, Canada's Stephen Harper, and others. Following the summit, there was a luncheon and a "class picture." She remained in Paris for a few meetings with Sarkozy and Cameron, gave a press briefing, and once again was wheels up for home.

We are very proud of Hillary Clinton. She exerted the kind of leadership this country needs. More power to you, Mme. Secretary, and I mean that literally. I would love to be able to address you by another title, and I do not mean Grandma! (Although that would be nice, too, but it does not preclude other titles.)

Slideshow: Hillary Clinton's Bilaterals in Munich

The subject, of course, was Egypt. Mme. Secretary met with UK Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel (who for at least the third time got the color memo), Turkish FM Davutoglu, Catherine Ashton, the EU Rep for Foreign Affairs (who got the velvet trim memo), and, of course, Russian FM Lavrov. Additional bilaterals were held with German FM Guido Westerwelle and Hamid Karzai.

Photos: Inside the Lisbon NATO Summit

There are many images available from today's NATO Summit in Lisbon. I have used several in previous posts. This is a series that I find interesting and decided to share. The principals, as if they needed to be identified, are British PM David Cameron, U.S. President Barack Obama, and, of course, the star of the show, Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State upon whom AP has today bestowed a cabinet! (But that is another story - see caption).

It looks, at first blush, like Mme. Secretary has gotten herself into yet another diplomatic entanglement here!


From another camera angle, however, we see that this is not the case.


Things begin in a jovial fashion.



And then the business of nations commences. It looks a lot like mid-term exams.




I particularly like this one in the exam context. Cameron looks like he is wondering what the question means. Hillary is writing enough to fill two blue books at least, and Obama is trying to see her answer! "What's she writing? Does she actually know all that?"


Well, to quote Chris Matthews at the end of her confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "I've never seen somebody know so much!" Yes, she does know!